Romeo and Juliet, a familiar tale to us all, is the tragic tale of two lovebirds that
were separated by their families’ oath to remain sworn enemies.
When it comes to church dating, many of us have been faced
with a similar tragic story. If you’ve been there before, you know.
…Dating someone from “the other church.”
We all know “the other church.” It was the church that let
their youth group read Harry Potter. It was the church whose pastor wore jeans
to preach on Sunday nights.
Why, oh why, would you ever want to date someone from “the
other church?”
Your love for “the other church” Juliet only grows because
of the disbelief and disapproval of your church family.
You realize that you and “the other church” Juliet must
attend movies in a different town together. Frozen yogurt joints are no longer
an option while you’re with each other. The Christian bookstore and Chick-fil-a
take a financial hit from your branching out into other territory. The youth group catches wind of you attending
a lock-in at “the other church” and decides to have an intervention style
accountability session, but you won’t let Juliet go.
Fortunately, very few of these stories end in the tragic
death of Romeo and “the other church” Juliet, but they can serve as a great
lesson for us.
At the end of Romeo and Juliet, the families are reconciled
over their loses.
Assuming there is no messy break up that causes Romeo and
Juliet to end up on the prayer request page of your churches new website…maybe
dating Romeo/Juliet-style in churches can be an eye opening experience.
Maybe dating someone from another church can help you
realize the church body you belong to isn’t the only one doing great things in
your community. Maybe the story of Romeo and Juliet is about broadening your
idea of worship. Maybe you could even bring two church bodies together!
Whatever the case is, don’t limit yourself to looking for
Mr. or Mrs. Right within the four walls of your church. Who knows what you
might end up learning by branching out?
